David Hackett Souter Case Summary

Background David Hackett Souter was born on September 17, 1939 in Massachusetts. His father is Joseph Alexander Souter who was a banker and his mother is Helen Adams (Hackett) Souter who was a store clerk. He practices Episcopalian, which is a person who belongs to a Protestant Church. He moved from Massachusetts to New Hampshire when his grandparents passed away in 1950. He went to Concord High School where he was voted “most sophisticated” and “most likely to succeed” by his classmates. He attended Harvard College graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1961. He then attended Magdalen College in Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts in 1963 in Jurisprudence, which is the theory or philosophy of law. Finally, he attended Harvard Law School graduating …show more content…
Bollinger case was an issue concerning the University of Michigan’s undergraduate admissions. They were awarding black, Hispanic, and American-Indian applicants 20 points to allow them into the university. There reasoning was to create a “diverse educational environment” (Milestone). This was declared unconstitutional to a 5-4 vote with Sandra Day O’Connor being the swing voter with Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer.
In 2006, the Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England was brought to the Supreme Court’s attention. This case was to challenge a New Hampshire law stating that prohibits doctors from performing abortions on a minor until exactly 2 days after a parent has been notified. This law was declared unconstitutional in a unanimous vote stating they cannot refuse to perform an abortion in case of a medical emergency. Another abortion case was brought up in 2007, the Gonzales v. Carhart case. This decision was made to uphold the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which made it illegal to perform an intact dilation and extraction form of abortion, not taking the mother’s health into consideration. Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer dissented but lost with a 5-4 vote.